Proposed features/highway=ferry link

Proposed feature highway=ferry_link

Currently ferry routes are typically connected via highway=service. The land way can be a residential to motorway highway. The ferry route is tagged as a route=ferry. We are proposing to replace the service road with a ferry_link way segment.

Rational

The road segment connecting the land way to the ferry route should not be tagged as a service road. The wiki defines a service road as "Generally for access to a building, motorway service station, beach, campsite, industrial estate, business park, etc. This is also commonly used for access to parking, driveways, and alleys." Link(highway) is defined by the wiki as "The link tags are used to identify ramps or slip roads connecting other more standard highways to each other."

According Martijn Van Exel Oct. 16, 2013 post on talk-us "This is not going to be affecting a huge number of ways - there are only around 500 or so ways tagged with route=ferry, of those, only a minority are car ferries, and of those, only a small amount would have only service roads connected to them." The highway=ferry_link will aid in routing where the ferry route is currently connected by a service road. For example, routing would be highway=primary -> highway=ferry_link -> route=ferry.

Tagging

highway=ferry_link is being proposed because it fits with other usages of link. For example primary_link, trunk_link, motorway_link, etc. More information on links can be found at Link(Highway) ferry_link is used on ways. There is no current use of this tag in taginfo